A rural Christmas...

We took an hour today to decorate the saloon and get ready for Christmas. We all ready for that now...

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My insanity on display www.pioneeringaz.blogspot.com

A very Happy Thanksgiving indeed...

So many Choices, so little time!

We had a great get together today, we had out of town family, and the neighbor came down (to the holler as she calls it) it was a great time...

Still can not believe we were able to get 17 people in the Saloon all at once!

We served in a buffet style

FOOD PORN!

Good food, drink, and company

My Crazy Uncle and Cousin 

Homemade Sangria and mixers...

We had enough food for an army!

After Dinner, we did a little target shooting

And a small skeet competition on who is going to make tacos tomorrow.

It was an amazing day, we all had a great time. Now back to reality have to be at the big orange by 4am tomorrow, so I better get off the 'puter and get to sleep... Hope everyone in blog land also had a good turkey day, and remembered to take a moment and give thanks for all their blessings.

Been a long day...

I didn't get a chance to snap a lot of pictures today. With luck I can get a pic or two before leaving for the big orange tomorrow. I did snap a pic of the finished wall of the saloon. So glad it's done. It looks like an old saloon should. The finish work is taking a bit longer than I thought it would, but that's par for the course. Inside I still need to trim out the two windows, and add a little trim here and there to give it a more finished look... That'll be down the road a ways.

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My insanity on display www.pioneeringaz.blogspot.com

Thanskgiving preperations...

We've been working non-stop for the past week, getting ready for the holiday. We are expecting almost 20 people for this, our first year at the ranch. I started a post last night with what we've done and what we need to do; but it quickly turned into a rant about "Black Friday" and the new retail holy-day... I'm going to moth ball that thought for now, and just get back to the work that needs to be done.
We need to finish our deep cleaning of our living spaces, I also have planned to finish the trim around the new storm door on the saloon and the front window. That way at least one wall (of many) will be done 100%!
So enough blogging, time to get to work.

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My insanity on display www.pioneeringaz.blogspot.com

Work a little, then work a little more...

Had to go into the orange this morning for a quick training session for some new hardware we received. While I was there I picked up some lumber and a ripping guide for my Skill Saw, then headed home with a half dozen of Dunkin' Donuts and enough time to rip down some lumber to trim out the saloon door, move the full-light storm door, then install our new (marked down door we bought at the big orange last month half off!) self-storing storm door to the front of our winter room. Had to do a bit of engineering to move the already installed handle up to clear the door handle of the front door. Then before putting everything away, I finally got around to trimming out one of our windows we installed last year... Whew... It's been a busy day... Time for a beer.

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My insanity on display www.pioneeringaz.blogspot.com

First night in her old/new bed

Well she slept well, was warm, and we just can't seem to get her out of it! She is actually doing her school work up there today... I also took a quick snap shot of the rest of our redecorated room...

So much for that, have a great veterans day, and a big thank you to all the veterans out there who have fought for our freedoms.

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My insanity on display www.pioneeringaz.blogspot.com

Little One's old/new bed...

Almost two years before we lost our house in town, my dad built little one a single bunk bed. We never had a place to put it her at the ranch, until we had some place to move the couch. So today we did just that, couch was moved to the saloon, and we rebuilt, and painted her bed, (looks better than I thought it would, after sitting outside in the dirt for three years) and in the process cut some 18 inches off the legs, putting her sleeping surface half way between the floor and ceiling. Should be the best place in the house!

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My insanity on display www.pioneeringaz.blogspot.com

An end to our winter storm...

Well the clouds are clearing, giving us a chance for a cold evening. I'm willing to bet it will be in the low 30's in the morning, if not colder. I've spent the past two afternoons getting ready for the cold season. It really took it's time getting here this year... I just wish I had stocked up on my firewood, like I had planned... So much for preparedness!

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My insanity on display www.pioneeringaz.blogspot.com

Always looking for a good MOD

Owning an S-10 Blazer I'm always on the lookout for good modifications. I saw this beauty the other day, but was on the clock
and could not get my cell phone out to take a pic. After work today I saw it in our parking lot and to my surprise it has a matching trailer... Sweet. I'm so doing this to mine.

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My insanity on display www.pioneeringaz.blogspot.com

Snow?

Yep, we had a nice dusting of snow last night, as soon as there was enough light, I snapped this quick pic of the local foot hills in town. Believe it or not, we had a lot of snow still on the ground at four this morning. Nice thing about this area, is the fun of watching it snow, seeing it on the cars and houses, and not having to deal with it on the ground all day, week, or months on end!

So as the big orange focuses on an early Christmas season (been decorating since September!) at least it feels like the right season now! Just saying...

Enjoy the weekend!
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My insanity on display www.pioneeringaz.blogspot.com

Snow?

Yep... Started an hour ago... It's going to be a cold winter!

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My insanity on display www.pioneeringaz.blogspot.com

In other news...

Last week I received a package from my great aunt Mary. I wasn't expecting anything so this was a shock, I quickly opened the box and found this cool bottle holder! She sent it to me as a trophy for all the snakes I killed this year. (grand total was 13 snakes... All poisonous!) It will be proudly displayed on our bar... Thank you aunt Mary!


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My insanity on display www.pioneeringaz.blogspot.com

One hell of a dog...

Princess was our old girl. She's been with the wife and I since we were married. Four moves, two states. She barked at every loud noise (thunderstorms were not her favorite times) she hated the sound of gun fire, running and hiding every time we went target shooting. She would go on long walks with me when little one was still in a stroller. She was the mother figure for our other dogs. Always grooming them, she was the monarch of the pack. In her prime she weighed in at 97lbs! And was well over 70lbs today.
A great dog, and we felt as if she was one of the family. She'll be missed, but we are glad we had her in our life.

Well now we have four other pups running amuck around the ranch. Three labs (two mixed with wolf) and a healer mix.

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My insanity on display www.pioneeringaz.blogspot.com

Just one of those days...

This is going to be a short post. Our old lab, she's 12yrs old, is going to have to be put down. Her eye ruptured last night, and is bleeding pretty bad. We knew this day would happen, when she was diagnosed 4yrs ago with a soft-socket, and glaucoma. The vet told us without surgery she would only have a good 6 months, she's been a spry little pup the last few years, and has been a very happy puppy... May she rest in peace, with her friend who we lost last spring to a porcupine attack. Life in the sticks.

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My insanity on display www.pioneeringaz.blogspot.com